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To: Tunica Albuginea who wrote (42382)	10/7/1999 4:34:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116753

OT very "funny" The people are being taken for a first-class ride By Ben Aris in Moscow. IT was when the bill for two first-class tickets from New York to Paris came through on my Visa card and I knew that I was in Moscow at the time that I finally realised how pervasive crime was in Russia. A trickle of credit card fraud has turned into a flood since Russia emerged from a financial crisis last August. Russian hackers have got between cash machines and banks abroad and have been emptying the accounts of expatriates and rich Russians, taking thousand of dollars every week. And the police are almost powerless to stop them. Responding to mounting complaints, several embassies issued warnings not to use credit cards in Russian cashpoint machines. The British and German embassies are advising people not to use the cash machines at all. Customs rules on bringing money in and out of Russia are strict and have been getting stricter. Rather than smuggle big bundles of dollars into the country every month - as some foreigners still do - most expatriates find it much more convenient to take money out of a cashpoint on a credit card drawing on a bank at home. But it is becoming an increasingly risky business. When I called Barclays International to notify it of the theft from my Visa account of more than œ1,000, the operator admitted that mine was not the first case. The organisation began an investigation into Russian credit card fraud in March. At least I got my money reimbursed. telegraph.co.

To: Tunica Albuginea who wrote (42382)	10/7/1999 4:42:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116753

Tunica, relax, don't worry and be happy....You need vacation...Bahamas? Sell (if you wish) In 2-3 years... New Paradigm Ghost is really just for children..does not exist...You watch to much TV (horror movies)..<VBG> Metals industry more positive ahead of LME Week By Samantha Shields LONDON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - The atmosphere will be more positive than it has been for the past two years when leaders of the world's metals industry gather in London from Monday for a week of negotiating and networking. Prices are well clear of their recent historic lows and the horrors of the Asian financial crisis seem to have passed. ``There are three things that have led to the recovery -- cutbacks, rationalisation and, most importantly, the fact that forward looking global economic indicators are strong,' Alan Williamson, head of commodities research at HSBC in London, said. ``Every region in Asia, with the exception of Indonesia, will be back to pre-crisis levels by the end of the year, we've passed the worst.' London Metal Exchange (LME) copper prices have recovered from the 12-year lows reached in May, rising by around 30 percent to hold above $1,750 a tonne. Aluminium is above $1,500, up by the same margin since March, when it was its lowest for five and a half years. Nickel is holding above $7,000, up by 88 percent from the 16.5-year lows it reached in December last year. KEY EVENTS ON THE FRINGE On the business side of LME Week, the events on the fringes of the official conferences and receptions signal the beginning of the so-called mating season, when miners and smelters thrash out deals for the following year. ``The relationship between the miners and smelters will be a lot better this year, when the prices are higher there aren't so many issues to disagree on,' Tariq Salaria, metals analyst at LME ring dealer Brandeis, said. Williamson said rationalisation in copper and aluminium had given the impression that producers had finally reacted to very low prices. Copper and aluminium followed other industries in July, when U.S. producers Cyprus Amax (NYSE:CYM - news) and Asarco (NYSE:AR - news) announced plans to merge. Hostile bids from Phelps Dodge (NYSE:PD - news) and Grupo Mexico for both companies followed in August and September, and the web was unravelled only this week when Asarco accepted a higher bid from Phelps Dodge just days after Phelps had reached a friendly agreement to buy Cyprus Amax. Alumiunium is set for domination by two giants. Alcoa (NYSE:AA - news) and Reynolds Metals Company of the United States agreed to merge in August, soon after the three-way merger between Switzerland's Alusuisse-Lonza Group , Canada's Alcan (Toronto:AL.TO - news) and France's Pechiney . The newly formed companies have yet to give hard figures on production cutbacks, but the industry consensus is that there will be cuts before long. This year's announced production cuts from Asarco, Phelps Dodge, Australia's Broken Hill Proprietary Co Ltd (Australia:BHP.AX - news) and Canada's Highland Valley, totalling around 500,000 tonnes, are beginning to ring hollow as output creeps up again. ``There is some nervousness appearing on the supply side, prices have come off the highs a little in the past two weeks and there are fears that Japanese growth and Chinese demand may slow,' said Jim Lennon, analyst at Macquarie Bank in London. ``Maybe not everybody is ready to buy the bull, but it's a lot better than it was last year,' he added. Even Western Australia's nickel producers may be welcomed in London this year. Operating problems at their new lateritic nickel projects have meant that first wave production will be well below the 33,000 tonnes predicted for 1999. ``This time last year the nickel price was lower, demand was weakening and there was outright fear of a deluge of Western Australian nickel in 1999,' Lennon said. He estimated that it would take six to nine months for first wave production to reach capacity, which would postpone investment in the second wave of production for at least a year. ``That means we can count on a healthy supply and demand picture in nickel for another two years.' biz.yahoo.com

To: Tunica Albuginea who wrote (42382)	10/7/1999 4:53:00 PM
From: goldsnow	Respond to of 116753

US dollar looking horribly weak Supports of 39.65 baht and S$1.6850 broken; S$1.67 next key target VER the last week, the US dollar's fortunes have taken a distinct turn for the worse against practically all currencies, except the yen. And with a raft of interest-rate decisions due from major central banks this week, currency players confirm a distinct reluctance to take large positions for the moment. The result will likely be a nervous and volatile week ahead, with the US dollar buffeted by cross-winds -- whatever decision the Fed makes on interest rates. At this point, it's quite tough to envisage anything resembling a stronger greenback -- when it's testing or breaking key supports all over the place. On the Asian front, the urgency to buy or hedge short yen exposures has taken a back seat for now -- with the Sept 30 Japanese accounting deadline over. And even a slightly stronger than expected tankan report for third-quarter Japanese business sentiment failed to raise more than a short flurry of yen-buying. Partly as a result, the Indonesian rupiah and the Thai baht -- which early last week were worst hit by real or expected conversions to yen for this purpose -- have swung back with a vengeance. A better outlook on the political front saw the rupiah jump as much as 10 per cent between last Friday and Monday this week. Buying of the Thai baht, on the other hand, climaxed yesterday evening with a 2.8 per cent rise when Thai authorities clamped down on foreigners' access to domestic baht liquidity. By last evening, the US dollar had fallen back 7.9 per cent to 7,780 rupiah, and 4.8 per cent to 39.33 baht -- compared to where it stood a week ago. Even against the more staid Singapore dollar, it retreated 1.8 per cent to S$1.6835. The moves are significant enough in percentage terms. But far more important is the fact that the greenback has broken below perceived support at S$1.6850 and a significant floor of 39.65 baht. This opens the way for S$1.67 and 38.50 baht next. Against the Indonesian rupiah, key support at around 7,400 rupiah lies just below last evening's close of 7,780 rupiah. And this unhappy picture for the greenback is repeated elsewhere as well. Few expect the Fed to raise interest rates this week, but players are saying that even if they do, it could well be offset by rate hikes elsewhere: the Reserve Bank of Australia meets today, while the Bank of England as well as the European Central Bank meet on Thursday. Expectations that any, or even all, may raise rates have sent the greenback reeling against their currencies as well. Helped by gold's surge to a two-year high of US$330 yesterday, the Aussie dollar hit a high of 66.40 US cents, just one cent away from vital resistance at 67 to 67.5 US cents. A clear break would suggest a move towards 68.5 US cents. Sterling, as well, hit an 8-month high of US$1.66 on Monday. The euro, meanwhile, raced through key resistance of US$1.0550 last week, and has since twice threatened to break through the next important point of US$1.0750. An upside break here suggests the next big target will be US$1.0950 to US$1.10. ********** On the US front, markets are trading on the majority view that there will be no US rate hike this week, based on the argument that recent comments by Fed bigwigs have given nothing of the veiled warnings which usually precede a change in rates. For example, only one of 30 primary dealers in government paper in the US is expecting a hike, according to a Reuter survey released last Friday. But a few early signs of inflationary pressures have persuaded almost half to warn that the Fed will also announce a bias towards tighter conditions down the road. But there are those who argue that it may even be too late for the Fed to raise rates when they next meet in mid-November, because of year-end Y2K liquidity concerns. Others, meanwhile, argue that a softer-looking Dow may also influence the Fed to stay its hand. We would actually prefer to see the rate hike now -- for two reasons. It would put a firmer base against a further greenback slide, and markets would be relieved that the Fed has taken a pre-emptive, but significant step to head off any budding inflation pressures. Taken together, both can only be good news for the US bond market and the Dow. Alan Greenspan said recently that central bankers need to incorporate asset inflation pressures into their conduct of monetary policy -- just looking at consumer price pressures alone may no longer be sufficient. A double dunk for the Dow and the US dollar is the last thing Asia needs now. business-times.asia1.com.sg